Major Events of 1903: Key Historical Moments You Need to Know
Every year brings its own set of pivotal moments that leave a lasting mark on history. From political shifts and technological advancements to cultural breakthroughs, these events shape the world and influence the future. In this comprehensive overview, we’ll explore the most significant occurrences from 1903, highlighting key moments that continue to impact our lives today.
Major Events of 1903 - Historical Moments That Defined the Year
- 01 Jan Edward VII of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Emperor of India.
- 02 Jan President T Roosevelt shuts down post office in Indianola Michigan, for refusing to accept its appointed postmistress because she was black.
- 04 Jan Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy's death.
- 06 Jan Dutch Press museum opens in Amsterdam.
- 07 Jan Start of Sherlock Holmes Adventure of Blanched Soldier
- 09 Jan Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota established.
- 12 Jan Rhodes Opera House burns in Boyertown Pa, killing 170
- 17 Jan El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico becomes part of the United States National Forest System as the Luquillo Forest Reserve.
- 18 Jan President Theodore Roosevelt sends a radio message to King Edward VII: the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States.
- 19 Jan New bicycle race "Tour de France" announced.
- 21 Jan International Theater (Majestic, Park) opens at 5 Columbus Circle New York City, New York.
- 29 Jan Dutch railroad workers strike.
- 04 Feb Stanley Cup: MontrTal AAA beat Winnipeg Victorias, two games to one and one tie.
- 11 Feb The Oxnard Strike of 1903 becomes the first time in U.S. history that a labor union is formed from members of different races.
- 14 Feb The United States Department of Commerce and Labor is established (later split into the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor).
- 16 Feb -59 degrees F (-51 degrees C), Pokegama Dam Minnesota (state record).
- 17 Feb El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico becomes part of the United States National Forest System as the Luquillo Forest Reserve.
- 18 Feb Kuyper government launches anti strike laws.
- 20 Feb Nick Young remains as National League president as AG Spalding ends challenge.
- 21 Feb Cornerstone laid for US army war college, Washington DC.
- 22 Feb Due to drought the US side of Niagara Falls runs short of water.
- 23 Feb Cuba leases Guantanamo Bay to the United States ''in perpetuity''.
- 24 Feb US signs agreement acquiring a naval station at Guantanamo Bay Cuba.
- 28 Feb Barney Dreyfuss and James Potter buys Philadelphia Phillies for $170,000.
- 02 Mar In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
- 03 Mar North Carolina becomes first state requiring registration of nurses.
- 05 Mar The Ottoman Empire and the German Empire sign an agreement to build the Constantinople-Baghdad Railway.
- 10 Mar Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep MontrTal AAA in two games.
- 12 Mar The University of Puerto Rico is founded.
- 14 Mar Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Rat Portage Thisles in two games.
- 15 Mar Frederick Lugard occupies Sokoto West Africa.
- 19 Mar The oldest Turkish football club, Besiktas JK, is founded in Istanbul.
- 22 Mar New York Highlanders (New York Yankees) tickets first go on sale.
- 23 Mar Wright brothers obtain airplane patent.
- 26 Mar American Hotel opens in Amsterdam.
- 31 Mar Richard Pearse allegedly makes a powered flight in an early aircraft.
- 06 Apr General railroad strike against "worgwetten" (anti-strike laws).
- 07 Apr The Flatiron Building in New York City is completed.
- 14 Apr Dr Harry Plotz discovers vaccine against typhoid (New York City, New York).
- 19 Apr The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western world.
- 20 Apr New York Highlanders play their first game, with Jack Chesbro losing 3-1 to Al Orth and Washington Nationals.
- 22 Apr American Power Boat Association forms.
- 23 Apr New York Highlanders (New York Yankees) win their first game beating Washington Senators 7-2.
- 26 Apr Atlético Madrid Association football club is founded
- 29 Apr A landslide kills 70 people in Frank, in the District of Alberta, Canada.
- 30 Apr New York Highlanders (New York Yankees) first home game, (Hilltop Park-168th Steet and Broadway, Manhattan), they beat Washington Senators, 6-2.
- 02 May 29th Kentucky Derby: Hal Booker aboard Judge Himes wins in 2:09.
- 04 May The leading Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary Gotse Delchev is killed in a skirmish with the Turkish army.
- 06 May Chicago White Sox commit 12 errors against Detroit Tigers.
- 14 May President Theodore Roosevelt visits San Francisco.
- 15 May US Treasury Department purchases 250,000 ounces of silver for the San Francisco Mint.
- 16 May George Wyman makes 1st motorcycle trip across the US
- 17 May Cleveland Indians beat the New York Highlanders 9-2 in Columbus Ohio
- 18 May The port of Burgas, Bulgaria opens.
- 22 May Launch of the White Star Liner, SS Ionic.
- 24 May The Paris-Madrid race begins, during which at least eight people are killed.
- 26 May Start of Sherlock Holmes Adventure of 3 Gables (BG)
- 27 May 37th Belmont Stakes: John Bullman aboard Africander wins in 2:21.75.
- 29 May May coup d'etat: Alexander Obrenovich, King of Serbia, and Queen Draga, are assassinated in Belgrade by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization.
- 30 May 28th Preakness: W Gannon aboard Flocarline wins in 1:44.8.
- 02 Jun Netherlands Korfball League forms
- 11 Jun Serbian King Alexander Obrenović and Queen Draga are assassinated.
- 12 Jun Niagara Falls, Ontario incorporated as a city.
- 14 Jun The town of Heppner, Oregon, is nearly destroyed by a cloud burst that resulted in a flash flood that kills an estimated 238 people.
- 16 Jun The Ford Motor Company is incorporated.
- 19 Jun Benito Mussolini, at the time a radical Socialist, is arrested by Bern police for advocating a violent general strike.
- 21 Jun Sherlock Holmes Adventure of Mazarine Stone takes place (BG)
- 24 Jun Russia prohibits meetings dealing with Zionist
- 25 Jun Boston Beaneater Wiley Piatt is only 20th-century pitcher to lose 2 complete games in one day, falling to Pittsburgh 1-0 and 5-3
- 27 Jun 19-year-old American socialite Aida de Acosta becomes the first woman to fly a powered aircraft solo when she pilots Santos-Dumont's motorized dirigible, “No. 9”, from Paris to Château de Bagatelle in France.
- 29 Jun British government protests against abuser in Belgian Congo
- 01 Jul July 19 ampndash First Tour de France bicycle race, won by Maurice Garin.
- 02 Jul AL / NL batting champ Ed Delahanty, disappears, found dead days later
- 04 Jul Pacific Cable (San Francisco, Hawaii, Guam, Phil) opens, President Theodore Roosevelt sends message.
- 06 Jul George Wyman arrives in New York City by motorcycle 51 days out of San Francisco.
- 07 Jul The British take over the Fulani Empire.
- 19 Jul Maurice Garin wins the first Tour de France.
- 20 Jul Giuseppe Sarto elected Pope Pius X.
- 23 Jul The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
- 25 Jul Castle on top of Telegraph Hill closes.
- 30 Jul August 23 (July 17ampndashAugust 10, O.S.) ampndash Second Congress of the All-Russian Social Democratic Labour Party held in exile in Brussels, transferring to London.
- 02 Aug Unsuccessful uprising of Macedonians against Turkey.
- 03 Aug Macedonian rebels in Kruševo proclaim the Kruševo Republic, which exists for only ten days before Ottoman Turks lay waste to the town.
- 04 Aug Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto of Venice elected Pope Pius X
- 08 Aug 3rd Davis Cup: British Isles beats USA in Boston (4-1)
- 10 Aug Paris Metro train fire takes place.
- 14 Aug James J Jeffries KOs James J Corbett in 10 for heavywgt boxing title
- 16 Aug Tigers play a home game in Toledo Ohio, New York Yankees win 12-8.
- 17 Aug Joe Pulitzer donated $1 million to Columbia University and begins Pulitzer Prizes
- 18 Aug German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright Brothers.
- 19 Aug The Transfiguration Uprising breaks out in East Thrace, resulting in the establishment of the Strandzha Commune.
- 23 Aug 6th Zionist Congres, Theodor Herzl declares Jewish state
- 25 Aug Judiciary Act passed.
- 26 Aug Phillies walk 17 Dodgers in a game
- 27 Aug 23rd US Mens Tennis: Hugh L Doherty beats William A Larned (60 63 108)
- 29 Aug The Russian battleship Slava, the last of the five Borodino-class battleships, is launched.
- 31 Aug Joe McGinnity wins his third doubleheader of the month.
- 06 Sep Start of Sherlock Holmes Adventure of Creeping Man (BG)
- 07 Sep Federation of American Motorcyclists organized in New York.
- 09 Sep 6 km long Engadin-railroad tunnel of Switzerland inaugurated
- 11 Sep The first stock car event is held at the Milwaukee Mile.
- 14 Sep Joseph Chamberlain resigns as British Colonial Secretary, in order to campaign publicly for Imperial Preference.
- 15 Sep Queen Wilhelmina calls railroad strikers criminals
- 17 Sep Boston Pilgrims clinch AL pennant, beating Cleveland, 14-3
- 19 Sep King Leopold II deny Belgian cruelty in Congo
- 21 Sep 1st cowboy film Kit Carson, premieres in US
- 22 Sep Italo Marchiony granted patent for the ice cream cone.
- 24 Sep Bill Bradley becomes 1st Cleveland baseball player (Cleveland Naps) to hit for cycle
- 27 Sep Wreck of the Old 97, a train crash made famous by the song of the same name.
- 29 Sep Prussia becomes the first locality to require mandatory drivers licenses for operators of motor vehicles.
- 30 Sep The new Gresham's School is officially opened by Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood.
- 01 Oct Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.
- 05 Oct Sir Samuel Griffith is appointed the first Chief Justice of Australia and Sir Edmund Barton and Richard O'Connor are appointed as foundation justices.
- 09 Oct 11 (28.4 cm) rainfall in 24 hours (NYC)
- 10 Oct The Women's Social and Political Union is founded in support of the enfranchisement of British women.
- 12 Oct Lyric Theater opens at 213 W 42nd St, New York City
- 13 Oct Boston wins its first of seven World Series titles, beating Pittsburgh at their home park, Huntington Avenue Grounds.
- 16 Oct Homel, 1st Jewish self defense organization founded in Russia
- 20 Oct US wins disputed boundary between the District of Alaska and Canada.
- 24 Oct George Sutton becomes billiard champ.
- 26 Oct Yerba Buena is first Key System ferry to cross San Francisco Bay.
- 31 Oct The Purdue Wreck, a railroad train collision in Indianapolis, kills 17 people, including 14 players of the Purdue University football team.
- 02 Nov Lyceum Theater (New Lyceum) opens at 149 W 45th St, New York City
- 03 Nov Founding of Argentinian football team, Newell's Old Boys in the city of Rosario.
- 04 Nov With the encouragement of the United States, Panama proclaims itself independent from Colombia.
- 05 Nov The first Halloween parade is held in Anoka, Minnesota.
- 06 Nov USA recognizea independence of Panama
- 13 Nov The United States recognizes the independence of Panama.
- 17 Nov The Russian Social Democratic Labor Party splits into two groups; the Bolsheviks (Russian for ''majority'') and Mensheviks (Russian for ''minority'').
- 18 Nov The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama, giving the United States exclusive rights over the Panama Canal Zone.
- 19 Nov Carrie Nation attempts to address the Senate.
- 23 Nov Enrico Caruso US debut (Metropolitan Opera House, New York) in "Rigoletto".
- 24 Nov Clyde Coleman of New York City patents automobile electric starter.
- 03 Dec Panglima Polim surrenders to Captain Colijn at Atjeh.
- 06 Dec Sumatra Atjehs guerilla leader Panglima Polim surrenders.
- 09 Dec Norwegian parliament vote unanimiously for female suffrage.
- 10 Dec Nobel for physics awarded to Pierre / Marie Curie
- 11 Dec British forces under MacDonald and Young march into Tibet.
- 12 Dec Roger Casement completes report about abuses in Belgian Congo.
- 13 Dec Italo Marcioni patents the ice cream cone (New Jersey).
- 14 Dec The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
- 15 Dec Italian American food cart vendor Italo Marchiony receives a U.S. patent for inventing a machine that makes ice cream cones.
- 16 Dec Taj Mahal Palace amp Tower hotel in Bombay opens its doors to guests.
- 17 Dec At 10:35 AM, the first sustained, controlled, powered aircraft flight is made by Orville Wright in 12hp Flyer I at Kill Devil Hills, Kittyhawk, North Carolina. The flight lasts 12 seconds.
- 19 Dec Williamsburg suspension bridge opens between Brooklyn and Manhattan.
- 28 Dec Electric lamp sets fire to Iroquois theater in Chicago; 602 die.
- 29 Dec French Equatorial Africa separates into Gabon, Chad and Ubangi-Shari.
- 30 Dec American Political Science Association founded at New Orleans Louisiana.
What happened in 1903?
Discover what the world looked like in 1903: